


It's Not A Cheap Trick

by RevolutionEight



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-05-04
Updated: 2016-05-31
Packaged: 2018-06-06 02:53:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,915
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6734998
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RevolutionEight/pseuds/RevolutionEight
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Pearl and Amethyst don't want to be liabilities when the Cluster emerges, or Malachite shows up. So they're working on their ability to fuse. But while Garnet may have been The Answer, there may be more than one question to be asked.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. We Have Only Ourselves to Blame

500 years ago

In a small hut on pre-Delmarva grassland, Rose Quartz concluded her meeting with the local people. “Wanishi” she said, ducking down to exit, aware of but not watching the stares from the local Lenape tribe. She took no joy in masquerading as a fertility god – she felt it demeaned both herself and the tribesmen – but it did make gathering information much easier. 

As Rose traveled towards the source of the disturbance, she reviewed what little information she had been given.  According to the scouts, local game had gone into a panic over the last 2 days, running in any direction to escape the forests near the coast. Though no one had been hurt, anyone who dared to venture close could hear for miles the stomping of feet, the crashing of branches, and occasionally, an unearthly shriek. Rose didn’t know the word they had used for what kind of shriek it was, but figured “unearthly” was a very good guess. 

And that is how she found herself in this now seemingly empty forest, with the exception of her and the monster. She effortlessly glided toward the epicenter in spite of the unease in the air, surveying the damage as it intensified. There were no carcasses to be seen, which only confirmed her fears the creature was a gem. As she approached the source of the sounds, it settled into one low but steady wail, an almost mournful cry. Rose resisted the urge to summon her weapons, knowing her own fear might make the situation worse.

Finally, she caught glimpse of something definitely alien through the greenery. A mottled skin of white, blue, red, and purple spread all over the creature, seemingly without rhyme or reason. It stood on two legs, but had 6 arms, and absolutely dwarfed Rose. Even within 20 feet, the creature paid her no mind, perhaps not even aware of her approach over the sounds of its own distress. Leaning on a tree its same height for support, it was completely consumed with whatever was wrong. Only from this close distance could she finally make out that the fierce beast was talking, quietly muttering “ _ it hurts…” _

Rose needed no further encouragement. She marched forward until she was at its feet, and simply made contact with her hands. Finally noticing the intrusion, Rose was surprised to peer up into a woman’s face looking down at her, before a second, vicious mouth roared its defiance, crashing a fist down with all its weight towards Rose. In a flash, Rose summoned her shield, taking on the full force of the blow.

The clang of the fist on hardened light reverberated through the forest. The giant fist was blown back, momentarily stunning the creature. Rose winced: her right arm hung limply at her side. She would run out of arms before the creature would, but she was willing to bet everything that it wouldn’t come to that. From above, she barely made out another word, “ _ Rose…” _

_ Thank the stars, _ she thought. She dissolved her shield with a thought and looked up. She had no more doubt of what she saw, and there was nothing for her to fear. “Well hello there. It’s so nice to meet such a lovely gem. You already know I’m Rose, but who are you?”

The creature stood there, now silent, for a moment. With some struggle, it managed to mouth, “Alex… andrite.”

Rose smiled up. “What a beautiful name, Alexandrite.” She wondered what had happened to lead her friends to this point, devoid of all but the barest cognitive functions. Curiosity? Danger? Love? Whatever the reason, she needed to more. “Now Alexandrite, I came to visit you because my friends are missing. I think they’re scared and need some help. Could you help me find them?”

As tears streamed down Alexandrite’s fracturing face, Rose thought  _ but those questions will have to wait _ .  _ Right now, my friends need me _ .

-*-

The present day

“But really, it just makes more sense this way,” Peridot said, feeling unassailable in her position.

“You get stronger as a Fusion. You can be yourselves sometimes too, I guess. But you should really just fuse into Opal every time you go on a mission.”

And today had been so pleasant up until then.

The Crystal Gems were gathered around an improvised fireplace in the clearing near the barn after another day of work on the drill. Steven’s dinnertime had signaled a break for the day, and now everyone had been peacefully enjoying the summer evening, until now.

Steven, oblivious to the touchy subject, contently tuned his ukulele. Garnet remained impassive, biting back her own thoughts, struggling to tolerate Peridot’s ignorance.

Amethyst and Pearl, as the main targets of this line of questioning, were not able to hide their annoyance. Pearls tiny fists were balled on her knees, her entire body rigid. 

“I guess I never mentioned it before  _ Peridot _ , but we only fuse for deadly situations.”

If Peridot noticed Pearl’s irritation, it did not stop her for from finishing her analysis.

“Come on. I just watched you fuse  _ today _ to pick up a large object. Were you worried the drill would come to life and spin on its own? And when we first… met face to face *cough*, we could see you were the bigger gem on the viewscreen, but then you defused. I can’t imagine you thought we weren’t a threat.”

Knowing how stubborn the older gem could be, Peridot instead appealed to Amethyst.

“I know it doesn’t seem fair that you and Jasper are both Quartzes. But there are a lot more brutes like Jasper - faster, stronger, younger - and you need to give yourself an edge. Heck, they may be so offended by your presence you can catch them off guard!”

Amethyst did not let people talk to her like this, and the tension in the air seemed to flow towards her. Pearl forgot her own anger watching the purple gem seethe, hoping that Garnet’s presence might hold her in check. Unaugmented, there was no contest: Peridot would be a green smear. But she was hoping the two of them had bonded enough that it wouldn’t end up like that.

“It’s not their fault Peridot! They got distracted because I showed up,” Steven mercifully interrupted. “And Pearl and Amethyst are both super strong. They’ve fought tons of gem monsters on Earth, and I’m sure they’re just as bad as these other gems.”

Peridot seemed to take a moment to consider what Steven was saying. “There’s something to that..” She rolled her eyes and muttered, “Still if that’s true, they should still be better at fusing.”

Amethyst got up, grabbed her chair, and flung it into the woods. With one more nasty look at Peridot, she stormed off. Pearl followed behind, calling out to her and begging for her to wait.

“Where are you going Amethyst! Don’t be mad, I’m trying to help you!” Peridot shouted as the two retreated.

Garnet sighed at the scene. Steven got up to follow the pair, but she called out to him to stay.

“Steven, this is something they have to figure out on their own.”

“But Garnet,” Steven replied, “aren’t they enough already? Opal is nice, but they’re already so strong and cool.”

“Steven… as long as you’ve been around, you’ve only ever seen them argue. But it wasn’t always like that.”

“So what happened?”

“…they need to find out themselves. Only then will their relationship improve, and they’ll be able to move forward.”

Steven didn’t fully understand why Amethyst and Pearl needed to move forward. But if it meant they would be better friends, he was all for it.

“And you,” Garnet turned to Peridot, who cringed. “You still don’t understand what fusion means to us.”

_ Though a little extra firepower wouldn’t hurt on missions _ , Garnet thought to herself. “We do become stronger, but the purpose is not to gain strength. That is Homeworld’s way. For us, fusion is to share in the depth of our bonds.”

“Come on Peridot, I can teach you the ‘Giant Woman’ song,” Steven chimed in. “And hey, if you want, you and I can fuse!”

Peridot was in the middle of rejecting the idea when she realized something.   
  
“Wait Steven, you can fuse?”

-*-

“Amethyst, please wait! She doesn’t know what she’s talking about.”

Amethyst was an expert in ignoring Pearl’s speaking, with hundreds of hours logged. She long ago had learned the pace needed to keep ahead of Pearl’s longer legs, but to avoid getting so far ahead the other gem would give up. Thinking of Pearl’s futility caused a small grin to grow on her face as she thought of how may arguments she “won” this way. Except this time, she had been angry at Peridot.  _ Ah crap, _ she thought, slowing up.

By now, the barn was a red smudge in the distance, at least a mile away. Now, their only company was some squirrels in the nearby trees, though they seemed generally disinterested in the proceedings. Amethyst, turned to Pearl, who was in her usual apparel of blue tunic, yellow shorts, and I’m-worried-about-but-also-kind-of-annoyed-at-you expression. Bracing for a lecture, Amethyst finally said, “I’m listening.”

“Well thank you for walking halfway back to Beach City before paying attention to me!” Pearl huffed.

“It was either leave or punch her in the face, Pearl. I wasn’t going to admit she was right.”

“Hold on, you  _ agree _ with her? We did such a good job today!”

“Pearl, have things gotten so bad we’re celebrating staying fused for 5 minutes now?”

“If there had been real danger, we could’ve kept going, I’m sure!”

“Even if there was a real threat, we can’t count on knowing in advance. It doesn’t sound like the cluster will send us an invitation before it does whatever it’s gonna do. Or if Malachite showed up, could you be totally sure we could pull it together quickly?”

At that, Pearl had to pause and think for a moment. “We would make Alexandrite with Garnet instead.”

“We can’t always count on Garnet!” Amethyst yelled. “I know she’s always there for us, but we need to do more to back her up.”

Pearl couldn’t really argue that point, so she waited for Amethyst to continue. And not just that… it was so rare to hear the younger gem talk seriously that she didn’t want to interrupt her train of thought.

“I’ve just been thinking. One way or another there’s gonna be a big fight soon. There’s a lot of bad people lining up to knock us down. The last time this happened… we thought Homeworld was coming to kill us. And we still couldn’t do anything against Jasper.”

With concern in her eyes, Amethyst looked directly at Pearl.

“Garnet and Steven needed us, and we were totally helpless. If Steven hadn’t managed to escape, there’s no telling what would have happened. That’s all I could think about while we prisoners on their ship.”

A silence grew between them. Out in the wild, with no other trees or wildlife around, there was no noise to fill in the awkwardness. At least the beach would’ve offered the lapping of the tide on the shore. 

“When we were trapped up there Amethyst, I was worried too, but about something else,” Pearl finally replied. “Of course, I was worried about Steven and Garnet, but I was also worried about us. If that had been the end – and if Steven hadn’t broken us out, our only hope would’ve been that “the end” came quickly – we would’ve died having never reconciled.”

Pearl sat down in the grass, deflated. Amethyst joined her, nudging their shoulders together. 

“Amethyst, I know you don’t hate me, and I don’t hate you. But we were friends for thousands of years, and for the past 13 years, all we’ve done is argue, and scream, and fight.”

“Don’t even think about saying it’s Steven’s –“

“-I’m not! I wouldn’t dream of it! But that’s when it started, and I was fully responsible.”

That earned a chuckle from Amethyst, though she was generous enough to stop when Pearl glared at her. 

“Even when it’s taking the blame, you have to be the best, don’t you? No wonder I can never be as perfect as you.”

“I never meant it like that!” Pearl replied. “I just wanted to help you. But maybe… I can be a bit insistent with my advice. Even then, your living requirements might be different from mine. What works for me might not work for you.”

“Hmmm,” Amethyst said, “That  _ kind of _ sounds like an apology. Look. Maybe, some of the stuff you say, sometimes, it’s a good idea. It makes sense. But the fact you’re the one telling it to me, I would tell you up is down.”

“Well, up  _ could _ be down, direction is relative.”

“Pearl,  _ please _ . Focus. I don’t know why you telling me what to do drives me so crazy, but I’m going to change it, starting now. I promise, if you have some ideas for how we can fuse better. I’m open. I’ll realllly try and listen and do my best, no matter how many books I have to read or steps I have to memorize. As long as we can still emphasize my butt in our dancing. If I’m only the good thing to come out of that Kindergarten, my butt is the G.O.A.T.”

Pearl laughed, even if she didn’t fully understand. “Alright then, first I think we need to run a diagnostic on our friendship. We’ll start over again, with no prejudice. If Opal symbolizes the strength in our relationship, then we have to build that up again first. This isn’t just about Garnet, or Steven, or the cluster. This is for us.”

“You know P, sometimes you say something pretty good,” Amethyst said. “We’ll work on the mushy stuff so we can punch stuff better. That’s a plan I can support.”

Amethyst reached out to hug Pearl, and she could see the gem on her forehead faintly glow. They would do this for themselves: they weren’t exactly preparing for a fight, but there was work to be done, and no telling how much time they’d have left.

_*_


	2. May You Live In Interesting Times

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to those of you who have read. I have a story arc plotted out already, and there shouldn't be anything here (too contradictory) to the Season 3 premiere. I hope.

**4 Months Ago**

Peridot sighed, nudging her visor up to massage the bridge of her nose. She had grown uncomfortably accustomed to her plans being disrupted since she had been assigned to monitor Earth. “It’s a great first assignment!” they said. “Good resume builder!” they said. But after repeated disruptions from some relics that had been living here, she’d had no choice but to call in help.

So of course they dug up some _other_ relic, a Quartz who had apparently served during the rebellion that had taken place on this dirt ball. Jasper talked little and listened less: she seemed to have her own idea of what the mission was. All she’d done on the trip here was brood and occasionally terrorize her second helper, an informer named Lapis (also like, a million years old!) who had apparently befriended the bumpkins.

In theory, they had already succeeded. Sure, there had been a scare when they somehow survived a blast from the ship’s cannon; apparently, the Steven was also a gem somehow and had raised a shield. Once Jasper got involved though, the defenders were effortlessly defeated. The really gross fusion was caught off guard by the destabilizer, and a tiny Quartz (?) and a Pearl (???) hadn’t stood a chance. Peridot was even about to compliment Jasper on her efficiency, except her bodyguard let up instead of poofing the other two. She held off until they shakily got up again, rage and sadness still in their eyes.

Jasper dispatched them again with little effort. And a third time. In spite of her overwhelming advantage though, Jasper refused to end the fight. This could not possibly be mercy, Peridot knew, but she had not been around any other fights to know exactly what this behavior meant. She made Lapis go pick up the fusion’s gems and the Steven to take onboard, and the blue gem was all too eager to get out of there. Lapis was shaking as she carefully tried to stay out of Jasper’s line of sight, picking up their prisoners, but for once the orange brute paid her no mind.

Peridot didn’t mind violence, but the act of hand to hand combat was utterly baffling to her. Really, they could have just stayed in the ship and kept blasting the beach until there was nothing left but some stains. So when Jasper insisted on coming back, she assumed it was to expedite things. They had prisoners now too, including the Steven that had interested her so.  She saw no purpose for their continued presence on Earth.

“You don’t NEED to poof them, you know,” Peridot said. “They can’t fight back anymore. Let’s just put them in a holding cell. Or leave them, I don’t care.”

“Quiet, pebble,” hissed Jasper. She didn’t even turn to look at her. “This is just where it’s getting good.” She took up a fighting stance and began shadow boxing. “I never get the chance to cut loose like this on Homeworld. You get in a spar, and just when things are getting good they stop it. But these idiots,” Jasper stomped the purple one’s head into the sand for emphasis, making Peridot wince, “they won’t give up. It’s great. I haven’t had a chance to hurt someone like this since the last time I was here!” The declaration got Jasper laughing uncontrollably.

Peridot paused momentarily, unsure of how to handle Jasper’s behavior.  “This entire sortie has been a diversion from our main purpose, to monitor The Cluster,” Peridot shouted so she could be heard. “Shatter them, poof them, just do something so we can-“

Jasper turned around, still chuckling, her stare burning a hole in Peridot. She flashed a too-wide smile, exposing all her gums, before saying, “Poor little Peridot, out of your depth. If you don’t like how I’m handling this, just make me stop. I dare you.”

Peridot couldn’t help but take a step back. _Did they know she was this damaged when the y assigned her to me?_ she thought. As she got ready to flee back to the ship, a whip tangled itself around Jasper’s legs.

“Huh?” was all Jasper could say as she twisted and fell, landing on her back.

“Do it now Pearl!” screamed the little one as the Pearl launched herself in an arc towards Jasper, shrieking in defiance, her spear ready to strike straight through to the sand below.

But from her vantage point, Peridot could still see Jasper wearing that mad grin.

Just before the spear could land, Jasper grabbed the tip with both hands, stopping its advance. Peridot witnessed the desperation on the pale gem’s face, then the sheer joy on her bodyguard’s with a growing feeling she couldn’t identify. The Pearl still strained, trying to bring her weapon forward using her leverage, but with a twist, Jasper snapped the spear in half. As the Pearl lost her balance and fell forward onto Jasper, Jasper stabbed upward with the spear tip, impaling her straight through the chest. With a groan, the Pearl poofed, her gem landing in the soft sand.

As Jasper laughed again and ripped the whip away from her legs, Peridot reflected on the valuable lesson she had learned today. _On the battlefield, strength is the only thing that matters_ , she thought, hearing the last defender cry out for what must have been her Pearl. Considering how unpleasant the day had been though, she decided she wouldn’t thank Jasper any time soon.

_*_

**The Present**

Peridot looked back at that moment with a mixture of pity and regret. As soldiers on a battlefield, Amethyst and Pearl must have been aware of what the consequences would be if they lost. Still, having come to know them both, she fretted they would only get hurt again whenever their next fight was. As much as she had grown to respect Pearl’s skills, Peridot did not see her as a fighter. And Amethyst, well… had just been dealt a bad hand, as there was no way she could overcome the circumstances behind her birth: though she now knew better than to speak of it out loud.

So after her advice the previous evening, Peridot was glad to see they had taken to heart what she had said. Throughout the morning, she saw a lot of Opal as she busied herself installing navigation systems in the drill. The fusion wasn’t doing a whole lot: sometimes jogging, sometimes practicing basic strikes, and even just sitting still. No matter what the activity was, Opal couldn’t maintain herself for long; inevitably, she would split apart after 10 minutes or so. As the morning wore on and the nearest celestial body moved out of sight though, their fusions became shorter and more infrequent, and they bickered with each other more and more.

_Oh good! They’ve moved to sparring_ , Peridot thought as she watched the two draw their weapons. Before they could begin though, Garnet leapt in between them, barking something, with Steven also making excellent time across the farmyard to join in. _I hadn’t realized they do team training like this, maybe they’re better off than I thought!_ she thought as she turned back to her work, humming a tune.

-*-

“-and we are a _team_ , ” Garnet finished, releasing her gauntlets. The fight was over before it had started, much to her relief. Before, she had never imagined they would actually come to blows, but she had been proven wrong once, and now took no chances. But something about this conflict felt… off. Pearl was usually chomping at the bit for Garnet to take her side, but now she just looked ashamed at her behavior.

Meanwhile, Amethyst flipped her hair down over face to hide that she was rolling her eyes (though no one was fooled). Everyone knew they were going through the motions here. Even Steven’s “Please don’t fight!” didn’t have its usual energy. They’d been down this road so many times before, and everyone was fatigued.

Perhaps realizing she wasn’t getting through, Garnet softened her voice. “Peridot was wrong to say what she did. Fusion is not a weapon, and you are strong enough on your own.” But Amethyst made a _pfft_ sound to that. Garnet ignored her and pressed on. “Right now, you’re being petty.”

“Garnet, give me a break,” Amethyst shot back. “We’re not doing this for her, we’re doing it for you and Steven.”

Pearl nodded in agreement. “We have our own reasons, this wasn’t just born out of some petty resentment.”

Garnet didn’t reply. Instead she looked off into the distance, then after a pause, adjusted her visor. Finally she said, “Alright you two, you are DISMISSED.”

Neither Amethyst nor Pearl knew exactly what Garnet had meant. “So go on, get outta here,” their leader continued, “work out your biz and come back when you’re ready.”

“Garnet, you can’t be serious!” Pearl yelled, “What if there’s an attack!? I need to help with the drill!? Who’s going to watch Steven!?”

“I don’t foresee any attacks for the next few days. Peridot can work on the drill by herself for a little while. I’ll watch Steven and ask Greg for assistance,” Garnet coolly replied.

Garnet turned to walk away, but glanced back and saw Steven had run up to hug Pearl and Amethyst, clutching them tightly. “You’ll be back soon… right?” he said pensively.

Pearl gently loosened Steven’s grip so she could crouch down to better embrace him. “Of course. I don’t want to leave either, but I think we have to, and I promise we won’t be long.”

Amethyst nodded in agreement. “And I promise Steven, we _will_ get you a little brother.” Steven’s eyes lit up until Pearl chimed in with an, “Amethyst, no.”

Steven broke away to catch up with Garnet shouting, “Secret training! Secret training!” As he caught up, Steven could be heard saying, “Gee Garnet, it sounded like you made yourself _crystal_ clear.” In response, Garnet hauled Steven up onto her shoulders, practically embedding him in her hair, and they giggled and ran the rest of the way back.

Pearl looked on sadly until Amethyst interrupted with, “Well that didn’t work.”

Pearl nodded in agreement. “Of course, the odds of that working were low. We were beta testing.”

“Beta testing?”

“Yes, seeing how long we could fuse, what things we could and couldn’t do, and I think I understand our limits a bit better now.”

“You do?”

Amethyst’s excitement made Pearl blush and look away. “I-I think so. Since we’re both trying our hardest to be cooperative, we can both focus on a task and accomplish it. But that’s not enough.”

“Working our hardest isn’t enough?”

Pearl shook her head. “It’s not just our effort. Our thoughts and feelings don’t have to be the same, but we’re both withholding something. We need to be open and emotionally available to each other.”

Amethyst’s eyes narrowed. “Like how you were ‘beta testing’ us earlier?”

_Because I couldn’t trust you to behave if I told you my plan!_

Pearl suppressed the thought. Not helpful, and she would’ve been to blame, not Amethyst. “I shouldn’t have done that, I’m sorry. You’re my equal and should know what I know.”

Amethyst’s skeptical look remained, but she was momentarily satisfied. “Alright ‘teach’, do you have a plan?”

Pearl nodded vigorously. “I do! It’s actually really simple. We just talk to each other.”

“Talk to each other?”

“Yes!”

“But we do that all the time.”

“Well, um-,” Pearl stammered. “-about our hopes, our fears, what we feel. We could start with you and-“

“-No.”

“No?”

“No. Pearl, you need to lead this time. This was your idea. You’ve been there for almost my entire life, but I still know almost nothing about you. Please, share something with me, how old you are, who your first crush was, what your *real* hair color is.”

Pearl wouldn’t even rise to the bait to correct Amethyst on how their hair worked. She averted her eyes and clutched her arms together. “There are some things I can’t share with you. I’m sorry.” She saw Amethyst’s contort in frustration, and said, “But you’re right. You do deserve to know more. So,” Pearl said, turning away, “we need to take a trip.”


	3. You Can't Bury The Past

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I only noticed when Super Watermelon Island premiered that Jasper says fusion is a cheap TACTIC, not a trick. Luckily, Malachite called it a trick in that episode!
> 
> Thanks again for reading.

1 Month Ago

Amethyst emerged from her room to a completely still household and was immediately grateful. Walking into the kitchen, she scrounged around for a snack to take her mind off the stress she was feeling. The fallout from Pearl’s deception made the air feel heavy and had left tension that seemed to pool around her gem and ache. Eating normally took her mind off her worries, but this was unlike any fight she had ever before experienced. Three days had passed without any sign that Garnet and Pearl had even spoken to each other.

The act of sprinkling baking soda over her Lucky Charms made her think of Steven, who was clearly miserable. He somehow had found a way to blame himself for Pearl’s lies, arguing that if they hadn’t followed her, she might have told Garnet on her own. She had reassured him he did nothing wrong, which officially made her “the peacemaker” in the house. Amethyst hated being “the peacemaker”. It cut into her time spent as “the wild card”, and at a time when Steven could probably use a little joyful anarchy.  

So she had been greatly relieved when Greg came by to take Steven away for a couple days, and that Garnet had agreed to come along. Now she could brainstorm a fun prank for Steven, maybe involving a ball pit, and- oh.

She had been so still and silent, Amethyst hadn’t noticed Pearl sitting on the couch, head down and arms folded on her legs.

Seeing the older gem like that should have made her ecstatic. It wasn’t often she had a chance to lord over Pearl how very, very wrong she had been. She could run amuck without any consequences (amazingly, the house still looked mostly pristine; Pearl couldn’t help but clean, Amethyst guessed). After years of being told how she was too impulsive, too rash, too irresponsible, how could she be blamed for resorting to that behavior now? Wasn’t Pearl no better than her?

But seeing Pearl brought down to her level made her feel nothing.  Garnet had been angry, scary angry, and Amethyst respected her enough that she didn’t question her feelings about fusion. But she also knew firsthand how intoxicating the feeling of fusion could be, and how difficult it was to relinquish it. When she and Garnet had run amuck as Sugilite, Pearl had been the one to bring them back. Amethyst couldn’t even remember if she’d apologized. Steven could have been seriously injured, and they had just moved on like any other day.

The whole thing was a bit murky for Amethyst, and she didn’t want to pick a side or get involved.

Don’t get involved.

Don’t get involved.

Don’t get involved.

“Hey Pearl,” (Amethyst couldn’t help but speak her mind).

Amethyst might as well have been shouting to her from Homeworld though, because Pearl didn’t move an inch. Stubbornly, she sat down on the floor next to the couch. She had to nudge Pearl’s arm out of the way, but otherwise she didn’t protest to Amethyst putting a hand on her knee.

“You know, for a long time, I’ve really wanted to punch Garnet in the face,” Amethyst said after a pause.

Pearl still didn’t react, but Amethyst  was committed to seeing her point through. “Not because I’m angry, or I don’t like her, but just you know… look at her! She’s so freaking strong. And I thought, maybe, if I could make her flinch or hurt her – just a little, not too bad! – it’d mean I’m getting stronger.”

“I mean, I’m sure you’ve seen it. When I ask Garnet to spar with me, she’s just playing around. But me, I’m trying my hardest, and nothing works. So when I got to fuse with her, I figured that was the next best thing. And I was right! I thought I would explode from all the power I had. I mean, um… you saw what it was like.”

Pearl had tensed from being forced to recall such a painful memory, a sidewise glance the only other indication she had been listening. Amethyst cringed slightly

“Pearl, I’m really, really sorry for hurting you back then. I totally lost control. I’m glad you were stronger than us,” Amethyst said.

Pearl barked out a soft laugh. “You know, all I could think about when Sugilite was mashing my face into the sand was, ‘I wish _I_ was stronger’.”

She chuckled again, and soon Amethyst joined in with a soft laugh, bonding over their shared shame.

“We really ruined things with Garnet, didn’t we,” Pearl said.

Amethyst took one of Pearl’s hands into hers. “I mean yeah, what you did was kind of messed up. But Garnet knows better than anyone how messed up we are. She forgave me, and she’ll forgive you. Just… give her some time,” she said.

Finally, Pearl looked directly at Amethyst, offering a faint smile. “Thank you, Amethyst. And apology accepted.” The mood in the room had lightened enough that Amethyst felt comfortable asking a bolder question.

“Pearl, can I ask you something? You said you wanted what Ruby and Sapphire had. Does that mean you lo–

The door opened, and in walked Steven, Greg, and Garnet. Amethyst and Pearl flinched, separating with urgency, the purple gem’s question dying in her throat before she could complete it. The heaviness returned, with greater intensity.

_*_

Present

Pearl and Amethyst softly padded through a forest, Pearl using the light from her gem to illuminate a path while Amethyst followed. They had left the warp pad behind several hours ago, opting to travel the wilderness to avoid attracting attention.  

“I’m sorry we had to walk so far, but I promise this is the most direct route. With that said, we had to come at night regardless,” Pearl said.

Amethyst had a little more trouble making her way past fallen branches and tall grass, but was managing well enough. “It’s cool, I just would have brought a snack if I knew we’d be out in the woods.”

Moments later there was a *pop* sound, and Amethyst was being handed a Ziploc bag with carrots. “I usually keep these for Steven, but you’re not too picky, right?” Pearl said.

“Awww, thanks Pearl!” Amethyst replied, immediately jamming the baggie into her mouth and loudly chewing.

Pearl focused extra hard on navigating them for the next minute or so.

Another nineteen minutes or so later, the trees thinned out, showing a few scattered buildings across a mostly green landscape. “Here we are,” Pearl said, letting her light wink out.

Amethyst looked around, seeing nothing in particular. “Uhhh Pearl? Did we have to come so far to see trees and grass?”

Pearl shook her head, saying, “No this spot is special. Underneath us is the Hadron Collider. Humans use this instrument to try and understand the very basics of the universe. They face the limits of their comprehension and struggle to understand what primal forces drive all existence.”

Amethyst blew some hair away from her face, looking around with a bored expression. “Sounds pretty important. Sure you couldn’t give them a few tips?”

“Yes, well, they wouldn’t understand. Anyway, they get touchy if you walk in there without a guy named Clarence,” Pearl blurted out, avoiding eye contact.

Amethyst nodded in seeming understanding. “Wow. Sterile, isolated, and secretive. I can see why you like it!” she said.

Pearl rolled her eyes but said nothing. She took a seat in the grass, fidgeting slightly to get her sash out from under her, then hugged her knees to her chest.

“I know I can be pretty hostile towards humans, but I didn’t always behave that way. When I first deserted Homeworld with Rose, I admit, I didn’t understand what she found so fascinating about them. I took her at her word that they were different than the other animals you might find on this planet.”

Amethyst, who had been watching with curiosity, now took a seat next to Pearl, nudging in closer until their shoulders touched. She was always a little wary when the “R-word” came up, but she knew it was practically inevitable if she wanted to know more about her friend.

“Rose fussed with them of course, but over the years I also came to appreciate their capacity for growth,” Pearl said. She restored her light, but now a montage of images appeared. In succession, Amethyst saw Pearl drawing a crude picture in the dirt for some farmers; lightly sparring with a young woman; helping a group of children identify stars in the sky.  

“I had misjudged humans: their brains were sophisticated enough that for the first time, I could take with another species about their place in the universe. I learned about hopes, dreams, and fears that weren’t that different from my own. In a way, we were walking parallel paths. But… we weren’t fully alike.”

The projection changed to a view of a burning field, with tools scattered on the ground; Pearl tending to an elderly woman, then to a line of tombstones.

“An ancient human once wrote, ‘The evil that men do often lives after them; the good is interred with their bones’. As much as they’ve grown over the past 5,000 years, they only live just long enough to repeat the mistakes of the previous generation. By the time they’ve struggled to learn anything truly important, their bodies have already begun failing them.”

“So I was grateful when we ended up in relative solitude where Beach City would eventually be settled. Even when humans eventually colonized the area, Rose wished that we stay away, and I was happy to oblige.”

Amethyst nodded, taking a moment to let everything she’d heard sink in.. “So it bothered you that they can never stop fighting each other.”

Pearl chuckled at that. “I should be more upset by what humans do, but after our own struggles with Homeworld? I suppose I’ve lowered my standards. At least a human needs things: food, water, shelter. What does a gem need? How many years do we have to gain wisdom? And yet we’ve still found ways to covet, to hate, to kill.”

Pearl cut the projection and turned to gaze at Amethyst. “Not a day goes by that I don’t hope Steven will somehow escape the ravages of human aging. I’m almost grateful for my ignorance on how his hybrid physiology will develop.”

Amethyst remembered the warnings she had been given growing up about interacting humans, how they were dangerous and would be mean to her. As with many things the older gems had told her (and in turn Steven), that was a lie, as she had grown to greatly enjoy men and women from all walks of life. But she now understood their fear that she would be hurt. Not just that they might take advantage of her, but  Thinking of Vidalia, or Greg, she wondered how many more years either of them had left.

Still...

“Pearl, thank you for sharing that with me. Really. I mean it. But I still don’t understand what this has to do with this spot. And with you,” Amethyst said.

Pearl paused, sighed, and collected herself. “Amethyst, you probably noticed Peridot and Jasper didn’t think... highly of me. I think she’s improving, but Peridot thought of me as an object, and Jasper thought I was defective.”

“I figured that was because they were mad at you for being a rebel,” Amethyst replied.

Pearl unwrapped her hands from her legs, balling her hands into fists. “They didn’t care I was a rebel. They didn’t believe I could think for myself, so really, how I could even rebel at all? Oh, that poor thing must have been programmed to fight by Rose Quartz,” Pearl said, taking on a mock-dignified tone. She smashed a fist into the grass.

“I was terrified, but I was willing to throw my life away if it meant Rose was safe. _That’s_ what made them angry, what made them call me defective,” Pearl said.

“I don’t get it Pearl, why would that, out of everything, be the problem?” Amethyst said.

Pearl turned back to Amethyst, snatching her in a too-tight hug, beginning to sob. “To them, 1,000 Pearls, 10,000 even, weren’t worth the life of a REAL gem. That I thought my 1 life, living or dead, could make a difference was against everything Homeworld had taught them. Everything they taught me. And even now, I have to remind myself I’m not a doll that was built for someone else’s amusement. That I have the right to live!” she yelled before dissolving into incoherence. Amethyst held on as best as she could, hugging Pearl back tightly until her breathing began to even out.

“And when I worry I’ve forgotten,” Pearl continued, gesturing in the direction of the Collider, “I come here. These humans will never see the final result of their research. They’re simply climbing one rung on a ladder of which they can’t even see the top. But if they can set aside their own mortality to do as much as they can with the lives they have, the least I can do is try as well.”  

By now, Pearl’s sobbing had subsided down to almost nothing. She unwrapped herself from Amethyst. “I’m sorry, I think that’s all I can share tonight,” she said with a sniffle and a faint smile. To her surprise, Amethyst reached up, running her hand through Pearl’s short hair before pulling her head down to the younger gem’s face.

“It’s amazing how smart you are with all the dumb stuff people must have told you,” Amethyst said. “But I know the truth: that you’re super cool, and caring, and I’m so lucky to know you.” The purple gem pulled away slightly, looking down to the ground.. “And I know, there’s just one of me, and it’s  _ me _ , so I know it might be hard to believe, but try to trust me on this one,” she added.

“Amethyst…” Pearl replied, getting back to her feet, then holding out a hand to help her friend up. “We’re  _ both _ better than those boulders from Homeworld. I think you have a gift for helping me remember important facts like that,” she said. Amethyst blushed, but accepted the outstretched hand and returned to her feet. 

Still pitch black out, neither of them knew what time it was, just that it was night. Still, the slim chance of having to explain themselves to an unwitting passerby encouraged them to begin heading back to the warp pad.

As they began walking, Pearl continued to hold Amethyst’s hand, swinging their arms back and forth. A little of her regular demeanor returning, Pearl slyly smiled at and said, “Now, perhaps you can share something about yourself so a feel a bit less mortified,” Pearl said.

“Yeah, aheh, maybe in the morning,” Amethyst said, eyes darting away, showing extra interest in the grass.. “Say Pearl, do you know what a ghost pepper is?”

 

_*_


End file.
